Michigan Humanities Emerging Research Scholars Program (MICHHERS)

The University of Michigan invites outstanding individuals to apply for the Michigan Humanities Emerging Research Scholars Program (MICHHERS). This program is designed to encourage rising seniors, recent B.A.s and terminal master’s students from diverse cultural, economic, geographic, and ethnic backgrounds to consider pursuing a doctoral degree in the humanities at the University of Michigan. Our goal is to attract diverse scholars with unique experiences who foster innovation and push the humanities to meet today’s challenges. For 2025, students interested in the fields of Asian languages and cultures, classical studies, history, linguistics, romance languages and literatures, and sociology (qualitative) are eligible.

Additionally, there is a transdisciplinary track within the MICHHERS 2025 cohort that is designed for students whose interests do not align directly within our participating programs: Asian Languages and Cultures, Classical Studies, History, Linguistics, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Sociology (qualitative). Students who still want to apply can self-select into the transdisciplinary track. You will be asked to complete an additional short-answer question, explaining your interest in the transdisciplinary track. Students in the transdisciplinary track will have a similar experience to those in traditional disciplines and will be paired with both a faculty mentor and a graduate student and attend seminars. The transdisciplinary curriculum is a new and innovative path developed to better serve the academic interests of humanities students.

This summer academic experience, running from Saturday, May 24, to Saturday, June 7, 2025, will help students learn about the various fields within their chosen discipline along with the latest methodologies and developments from faculty in individual departments. Students will have the opportunity to work on a piece of their own scholarship or develop a research project in consultation with U-M faculty and graduate students in their field. Attention will also be given to articulating the importance of diversity to the development of the humanities. Students will receive practical instruction on applying to graduate school and pursuing careers inside and outside academia.

MICHHERS will be offered as an in-person experience for 2025.

Benefits – All Expenses Paid

• $1,000 stipend
• University Housing
• Round trip travel cost
• Application fee waiver to apply to a Rackham Graduate School program

Download the MICHHERS flyer.

Important Dates

2024-2025 Application Workshop Dates

• Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 8:00 p.m. EDT
• Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 8:00 p.m. EDT
• Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 8:00 p.m. EDT

Register for an Application Workshop.

Apply

Eligibility Requirements

We are not able to accept students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Students currently enrolled at University of Michigan-Flint and University of Michigan-Dearborn are encouraged to apply.

• We seek rising seniors, bachelor’s degree holders, and those currently in terminal M.A. programs, who are United States citizens, permanent residents, or non-U.S. citizens with DACA. Please note, those who are currently applying to enroll in a doctoral program for Fall 2025 are ineligible to participate in MICHHERS.
• Applicants must also meet one or more of the following criteria:
  1. Come from an educational, cultural, or geographic background that is underrepresented in graduate study in their discipline in the United States or at the University of Michigan.
  2. Have demonstrated a commitment to diversity in the academic, professional, or civic realm through their work experience, volunteer engagement, or leadership of student or community organizations. By diversity, we mean efforts to reduce social, educational, or economic disparities based on race, ethnicity, or gender, or to improve race relations in the United States.
  3. Have experienced financial hardship as a result of family economic circumstances.
  4. Be a first-generation U.S. citizen or will be the first in their families to graduate from a four-year college or university.

For 2025, students interested in the fields of Asian languages and cultures, classical studies, history, linguistics, romance languages and literatures, and sociology (qualitative) are eligible.

There is also the option of the transdisciplinary track within the MICHHERS 2025 cohort, which is designed for students whose interests do not align neatly within our participating programs. 

Application Materials

Your application must include:

• Unofficial transcripts reflecting all undergraduate and graduate work (if applicable) through December 2023. If you completed a degree at a community college, that transcript should also be included.
• A personal statement (up to 500 words) on your graduate school, academic, and career goals; how your background has influenced those goals; how participating in MICHHERS will help you achieve those goals; and why you are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
• An academic statement (up to 600 words) describing the specific field(s) of your research interest(s); why you are interested in that field of research; relevant course work you are taking this year; and any relevant research experience(s) you have had in an academic or work setting.
• An academic writing sample (between 7 to 15 pages double-spaced). This paper should be a piece of original scholarship but does not necessarily need to have been written for a course.
• Two (2) letters of recommendation.

All application materials should be submitted through the Rackham website. Paper copies will not be accepted.

For questions, email [email protected].

Application Deadline

Applications and supporting documentation must be received online by Monday, February 10, 2025 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Final decisions will be made by the end of March.